On Tuesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention approved Novavax’s two-dose COVID vaccine as a primary series for adults, developed using conventional technology for unvaccinated people. Dr. Rochelle Walensky, CDC Director, stated that the Novavax vaccine will be another option for people who do not want to take Pfizer’s and Moderna’s shots. According to FDA data, the Novavax jab produced a strong immune response against omicron and its subvariants, suggesting that it is effective against the variants. He also stated that Novavax’s shot is 90% effective at preventing illness and 100% effective at preventing severe diseases. On the other hand, the FDA warned healthcare providers that the Novavax vaccine can increase the risk of heart inflammation, i.e., myocarditis.

According to CDC, Novavax’s vaccine uses a different platform than Pfizer’s and Moderna’s shots. Pfizer and Moderna’s shots were the first mRNA vaccines to receive approval from the FDA. On the other hand, the Novavax vaccine is based on protein subunit technology that has been in use for more than 30 years, starting with the first licensed hepatitis B vaccine. The spike copies in the vaccine prepare the body’s immune system to produce antibodies that block the virus from invading human cells. Shots with Novavax deliver messenger RNA to human cells, which then produce inactive copies of the spike protein to generate an immune response to fight the virus. 

Though the FDA has repeatedly advertised Pfizer’s and Moderna’s shots as safe and effective vaccines for every age group in the US, health officials have struggled to convince millions of skeptics to take the shots. The CDC and the FDA have not approved the mix and match of Novavax’s vaccine with Pfizer’s and Moderna’s shots as a booster.